TechCrunch
For years, self-driving cars looked like they were always at least ten years away from coming to market. If the notoriously conservative car industry thinks we are only five years away from somebody selling an autonomous car, then we’re probably even closer than they expect.
Cities have always been hubs of technological experimentation, shaped by the people who inhabit them and the tools they use. We can still see the marks, both charming and garish, from technologies of years past — from old aqueducts to telephone booths to the damage done by cars.
Hours after Uber launched driverless cars in Pittsburgh, aldermen proposed an ordinance to ban driverless cars in Chicago.
At TechCrunch Disrupt SF this year, famed iPhone and PlayStation hacker George Hotz unveiled the first official product of his automotive AI startup, Comma.ai. The Comma One is a $999 add-on shipping before the end of the year, with a $24 monthly subscription for its software, which Hotz says will be able to drive your car from Mountain View to San Francisco without requiring a driver to touch the wheel, the brake or the gas.
What a joke! "5 years, in very defined areas during good weather, etc."
So on a race track? I built a lego car 15 years ago that could do some clearly defined tasks. I'm sure they could make it work on a race track too!
Some company may introduce them in 5 years, but it will be a complete failure. Anyone know the liability will work? I can't see any insurance company selling an auto policy that covers these cars. As the Ford CEO went on to say, it will be a while before someone designs one that doesn't crash.
I doubt we will see any reasonable adoption of them until 2040.
With cyber security being a hot button topic these days, I doubt anyone will want to let something totally automated drive them around. I could see a hybrid approach where the driver could flip a mechanical switch and override the car. Because do you really think these cars will understand police officer instructions?